Sense the tie rods are rotated about 90' from each other, I'm not sure of a good way to measure them.
I have a pair from an '84 Gran Fury in my garage. The passenger side measureed 14-1/8” from farthest point to farthest point. The drivers side was 14-1/2”.
I'm mentioning this in case others might not know. There is a Left hand thread and a Right hand thread tie rods. I have some tips when replacing tie rods.
- Loosen the tie rod sleeve and add a lot of penetrating oil onto both threads (this is not a tip, but something you have to do).
- Most people will unscrew one tie rod from sleeve then unscrew the other tie rod – which is double the work. What I do is loosen the tie rod studs from steering knuckle and drag link, then snug the nuts back finger tight (or looser). Then turn the tie rod sleeve counting how many turns it take to remove (and write this number down, somewhere). Once sleeve is removed, remove tie rod nuts and remove all three items.
Insert new tie rod into sleeve and rotate about 2 turns, each. Install onto car. Then rotate tie rod sleeve the same number as you recorded (minus 2 turns). Presto, it is back where it started from (but most likely will need a final adjustment from alignment shop).
- I don't think it matters which direction the Left or Right threaded tie rods go back on (ie: both Left hand threaded to the Left or both Right hand threaded to wheels, or what).
- Chrysler only used four different tie rods for the rear wheel drive cars they made from '60 to '90. One pair (L & R thread) uses 9/16” tubes and the other pair (L & R thread) uses 11/16” tubes. Police cars, C-body and older pickups use the larger size. If you are already replacing the tie rod ends, it is not that much more to upgrade to the larger size tie rods (which also have a larger ball joint). Don't forget to get the larger tubes, as well.
- Last tip: The factory tie rod sleeves are inexpensive and work well for most drivers. That said, the open nature of the tie rod sleeve:
Allows water to collect – which allows rust to happen.
Also, that same design has a lot of flex when driving hard (lots of hard/fast turns). There are videos of people attaching cameras to areas and making hard turns and your jaw might drop after you see just how seeing much they flex under hard usage.
This style (any brand) doesn't have the flex and doesn't allow for moisture to accumulate.
The only downside I see is dissimilar metals (steel and aluminum) can cause corrosion to occur where they thread together. One solution is to use a dab of anti-seize compound or maybe Loctite blue (or something).
If you are not into performance driving, then the standard parts most likely will work well for you.
BudW
Edit:
They also make an official tie rod adjusting tool (for using the OE style sleeves):